Teenager poisoned by toxic gas unconscious for six days

A teenager has been unconscious for six days after she inhaled toxic gas at a restroom in a fish market in Busan.According to local police on Saturday, the 18-year-old was found unconscious around 3 a.m. Monday in the bathroom of the fish market near Gwangan Beach in Busan.  She was discovered by her friend, who was waiting for her outside the restroom. “She had not come out for 20 minutes,” the friend told police. “I also almost passed out twice and vomited a lot because

Social AffairsAug. 4, 2019

Gunman kills 20 in rampage at Walmart store in Texas

A gunman armed with a rifle killed 20 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday and wounded more than two dozen before being arrested, authorities said, after the latest US mass shooting sent panicked shoppers fleeing.Many of those in the busy store were buying back-to-school supplies when they were caught up in the rampage, which came just six days after a teenage gunman killed three people at a food festival in Northern California.“On a day that would have been a normal day for

World NewsAug. 4, 2019

[Newsmaker] 72-year-old man dies from self-immolation in apparent protest of Japan's trade curbs

A 72-year-old South Korean man died on Saturday three days after setting himself on fire in Seoul, police said, in apparent protest against Japan's trade curbs against Korea.The man, whose identity was withheld, set himself ablaze near the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in the heart of Seoul on Thursday morning. He died at 5:41 p.m. on Saturday while being treated at a hospital, police said. Police found a bag that appears to belong to the man near the location of his self-immolation. The

Social AffairsAug. 4, 2019

S. Koreans censure Japan's Abe for expanded trade curbs

Thousands of South Korean demonstrators staged a rally on Saturday for the third straight weekly demonstration to censure Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for expanding trade curbs against Seoul, demanding Abe apologize for Tokyo's wartime forced labor."Apologize!" shouted the protesters in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, waving banners reading "Censure the Abe regime" and "Apologize for wartime forced labor." Japan, which tightened exports of key material

Social AffairsAug. 4, 2019

ARF ministers welcome DMZ Trump-Kim meeting, look forward to resumption of nuke talks

The foreign ministers who participated in a regional forum in Thailand this week welcomed the impromptu summit between Washington and Pyongyang in June and looked forward to the resumption of their nuclear talks, its chair's statement showed.The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) took place in Bangkok on Friday and brought together top diplomats from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and 17 other countries. "The ministers welcomed the meeting between US President Donald T

InternationalAug. 4, 2019

N. Korea apparently not ready yet for nuke talks with US: Seoul official

North Korea does not appear ready yet for the resumption of its working-level nuclear talks with the United States, a senior Seoul official has said, amid concerns that its recent saber-rattling could dampen the mood for dialogue.The foreign ministry official made the remarks on Friday when Pyongyang fired off two short-range projectiles in the third such launch in about a week. On Saturday, the regime claimed to have tested a "newly-developed large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket sys

North KoreaAug. 4, 2019

S. Korean minister demands Japan withdraw trade curbs at 16-nation trade talks

South Korea's trade minister said Saturday that she demanded Japan "immediately withdraw" trade curbs against Seoul at a meeting aimed at forging a 16-nation free trade deal. Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee told reporters that she raised the matter at the two-day meeting in Beijing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a proposed 16-nation free trade bloc."I called on Japan to immediately withdraw the export curbs," Yoo told reporters.Yoo also emphasized tha

IndustryAug. 4, 2019

Japan orders removal of sex slave statue on display at arts festival

A statue of a girl representing victims of Japan's World War II-era sexual slavery, which has been on display at an international arts festival in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, was ordered by Japanese officials to be removed, the festival's organizers said Saturday.The statue, which symbolizes Korean women who were forced to serve as sexual slaves for front-line Japanese soldiers during the war, was created by a South Korean artist and has been on display at the Aichi Triennale international

Foreign AffairsAug. 4, 2019

FM Kang says Japan's export curbs could pose 'serious threat' to regional prosperity

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Saturday that Japan's recent export restrictions, including its removal of South Korea from a list of trusted trade partners, could pose a "serious threat" to regional prosperity.Kang made the remarks during a meeting with her counterparts from five countries around the Mekong River -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam -- on the last day of her four-day trip to Bangkok for multilateral talks involving the Association of Southeast Asian N

Foreign AffairsAug. 4, 2019

S. Korean conglomerates' H1 profits down 40%

South Korea's top business groups saw their operating profits dip a whopping 40 percent in the January-June period from a year earlier, market data showed Sunday, due mainly to weak performances of major tech brands such as Samsung and SK.The combined operating profit of 55 of the top 100 listed firms that announced their first-half operating profits came to 42.8 trillion won ($35.6 billion), falling sharply from 71.1 trillion won posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by industry

IndustryAug. 4, 2019

S. Korea mulling conducting defense drills on Dokdo this month: sources

South Korea is considering carrying out a combined maritime defense drill on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo as early as this month, military and government sources said Sunday.The military exercise, if conducted, would come amid an escalating row with Japan over shared history that has spilled into the economic realm after Japan last month imposed a tougher approval process for exports of some chemicals to South Korea.  The row intensified on Friday as Tokyo approved a plan to r

DefenseAug. 4, 2019

Dismissing missile tests, Trump says Kim won't want to 'disappoint me'

      US President Donald Trump downplayed on Friday North Korea's missile tests, saying that while they may violate a UN resolution, Kim Jong Un will not want to "disappoint" him because he has "too much to lose."   Underlining his intense personal support for the North Korean leader, Trump fired off three tweets brushing aside the short-range missile launches.   "There may be a United Nations violation, but Chairman Kim

Foreign AffairsAug. 3, 2019

PM says Japan 'crossed line' with removal of S. Korea from whitelist

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Saturday blasted Japan for its decision to remove South Korea from a whitelist of trusted trading partners, saying that it "crossed a line it should not have." "(The decision), is the second retaliation after the country imposed export restrictions on key chip materials," Lee said at a Cabinet meeting. He also said such moves could "jeopardize bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan, international free trade and interdepe

PoliticsAug. 3, 2019

N. Korea apparently not ready yet for nuke talks with US: Seoul official

   BANGKOK -- North Korea does not appear ready yet for the resumption of its working-level nuclear talks with the United States, a senior Seoul official has said, amid concerns that its recent saber-rattling could dampen the mood for dialogue.   The foreign ministry official made the remarks on Friday when Pyongyang fired off two short-range projectiles in the third such launch in about a week. On Saturday, the regime claimed to have tested a "newly-developed large-cali

North KoreaAug. 3, 2019

National Assembly passes W5.8tr extra budget bill

South Korea's parliament passed a 5.83-trillion won ($4.9 billion) extra budget bill Friday, supporting the government's efforts to prop up the slowing economy and tackle Japan's export curbs against Seoul.During a plenary meeting, the National Assembly approved the budget bill in a 196 to 12 vote, with 20 abstentions. Rival parties earlier agreed to cut the proposed fiscal spending by a net 860 billion won from the government's April proposal of 6.7 trillion won.The extra budget -- more than ha

PoliticsAug. 2, 2019

Parliament passes resolution urging Japan to withdraw export curbs

The National Assembly on Friday passed a resolution calling on Japan to immediately withdraw its export curbs against South Korea in a unanimous vote during a plenary meeting. The parliament also passed a resolution condemning an air incursion by Russian and Chinese warplanes and Japan's territorial claim to the South's easternmost islets of Dokdo.The move came after Tokyo approved the removal of South Korea from a "whitelist" of trusted trading partners at a Cabinet meeting earlier in

PoliticsAug. 2, 2019

Can S. Korea’s military intercept NK missiles?

As North Korea has fired several short-range projectiles and ballistic missiles on multiple occasions recently, concerns are growing on whether South Koreal’s military would be able to intercept them. Pyongyang fired two unidentified short-range projectiles on Friday, the third launch to come in eight days. According to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the projectiles, which Cheong Wa Dae says are probably ballistic missiles, flew 220 kilometers into the East Sea at the speed of Mach 6

North KoreaAug. 2, 2019

South Korean anti-bullying campaigner wins Asia's 'Nobel prize'

A campaigner who tackles youth suicide in South Korea, two journalists, and a human rights activist were named Friday among the winners of Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award.Kim Jong-ki, whose 16-year-old son took his life after being bullied in school, received the 2019 award for helping South Korea face one of the developed world's highest suicide rates. Kim, 72, was recognised for "his quiet courage in transforming private grief into a mission to protect Kore

World NewsAug. 2, 2019

S. Korea to exclude Japan from trade whitelist in retaliation

South Korea plans to exclude Japan from its own whitelist in response to Tokyo’s decision on Friday to remove as a preferred trading partner, as bilateral relations have slumped to the lowest levels since normalizing diplomatic ties in 1965.“The government will resolutely take corresponding measures against Japan’s unjust economic retribution. ... As we have warned earlier, if (Japan) intentionally hits our economy, it must be prepared for greater damages,” President Moon

IndustryAug. 2, 2019

N. Korea intends to host World Cup qualifier vs. S. Korea

North Korea has expressed its intention to hold a World Cup qualifier with South Korea in Pyongyang, the South's football governing body said.According to the Korea Football Association on Friday, the North Korean football federation sent a document to the Asian Football Confederation saying it will host the match at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 15. In a draw for the AFC second round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification held last month, South Korea and North Korea were p

SoccerAug. 2, 2019